Cycling in Canberra

Information about Cycling in Canberra

Finding your way around Canberra on a bike
Join a cycling club
What does the ACT Government offer cyclists
Where are the bike shops
Where can you hire bikes
Bike Rides in and around Canberra
Cycling events in Canberra
Publications about cycling in Canberra

Finding your way around Canberra on a bike

The best way to find out about where to cycle in Canberra is to get a copy of the Canberra Bikeways Map. This map shows roads, bike paths and off road tracks and trails through the parks and forests. Its a must have item for locals and visitors to Canberra, and can even double up as a street map as well.

Join a cycling club

Pedal Power ACT Inc is the main organisation in Canberra which represents all cyclists. It has a continuous program of recreational rides for all ages and standards. It represents Canberra cyclists in discussions with the ACT Government, and lobbies for better facilities for recreational and commuter cyclists. The Pedal Power web site has details of many rides in and around the ACT. It has an office in the Griffin Centre, City, with extensive resources. Events organised by Pedal Power can also be found on the ACT Government's ACT and Region Community Organisations page. Pedal Power ACT also sponsors the bike-oz mailing list
The ACT Cycling Federation Inc is the organisation for racing and competition cycling and is part of Cycling Australia (Australian Cycling Federation)
The ACT Veteran's Cycling Club is open to males over 35 years and females over 30 years. It has a good program of rides throughout the year.
The Canberra Cycling Club has been a racing club since the early 1980s and is affiliated with the Australian Cycling Federation. It has between 150 and 200 members, and organises road races, time trials, criteriums and track races for all age groups, including U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19. Contact Secretary Dave Sutton
Audax Australia is the place to go for those really long rides to test your endurance
The Tuggeranong Vikings Cycling Club is also a road racing club catering for cyclists living in the Tuggeranong valley, which is a town of about 80,000 people in the south of Canberra. It is also affiliated with the Australian Cycling Federation and caters for junior, senior and veteran grades.
The Triathlon ACT conducts a full program of triathlons and duathlons throughout the year. The water is too cold for safe swimming in the cold Canberra winters, so that's when the duathlons are held. Julia Keith is the Executive Officer of the Association and can be contacted on 6257 2230(w)
Bilbys Triathlon and Swimming Club was formed in 1987 as a friendly, informal club which conducts its activities in an environment which caters for different levels of performance, and places emphasis on enjoyment. It caters for swimmers and triathletes and has training, instructional and competitive activities. Paul Farrell is President on 6281 0497, and David Baldwin is Membership Coordinator at 6251 1163.
Canberra is the mecca for mountain biking, with off-road bike riding accessible within a couple of kms from the city centre. Most of the country surrounding Canberra is open pine forest, native bushland and national parks. All have excellent trails with virtually no restrictions for mountain biking (see MTB Code). An area of pine forest on Mt Majura (entrance from Majura Road) is set aside specially for MTB, and many races are held here. A new MTB competition area has been built at Blue Range about 30km out of Canberra. Canberra Off-Road Cyclists (CORC) is a very active group which organises lots of rides. They are very active on the mtb-oz mailing list, and can be contacted there or by calling President Tony Scott at 6241 5043(h), 6249 3573(w) or email. The Ozondirt site also has lots of MTB competition info.
Mountain Bike Access Australia formed in response to the small but growing number of trail closures in Australia. One of the aims of MBAA is to educate land managers to the true impact of mountain bikes. If you want to send a submission have a look at this information.
Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) has an excellent web site including a free stolen bicycles site
Mountain Bike Orienteering (MBO) was introduced to Canberra in 1997 by Sue Johnston and Peter Plunkett-Cole. MBO is organised by the ACT Orienteering Association. email Gary Caitcheon on 6288 3456 (h)
Its like orienteering but not quite. So what's rogaining , and can cyclists do it?
Go critical with Critical Mass from Garema Place, City on the last Friday of each month at 5.30pm
The ACT BMX Association organises training and races. Friday night racing at their Melba track on Copland Drive. Sign on by 7.15pm with racing at 7.30pm. Gate start practice Weds at 6.00pm. All ages catered for with emphasis on fun. Contact the Club information line 6259 1376
The BMX club for those on the southside is the Tuggeranong BMX Club in Sulwood Drive, Kambah (Canberra Cycleways Map sheet 17). Races are held every second Saturday.
Women who want to ride with other women should contact Sandy Daley, Manager, ACT Women in Sport, at Sports House Hackett, phone 247 3282 (h), or Robyn Barker at Females in Training (FIT), phone 6285 3697(h) or 6281 1819(w), or Brigid Cassells on 6251 2517(h) or 6207 2063(w).
Canberra is the hub for HPV activities in Australia, with ozHPV. It costs only $10 to join, so complete your application form here.
For all those arguments against wearing bike helmets, check out the Cyclists Rights Action Group (CRAG). A single issue site with lots of interesting links to safety and helmet issues. For more information phone (Canberra 6251 5357) or Bill Curno.

What does the ACT Government offer cyclists
Phone 13ACT1 (ie 132881) for all enquiries or surf the ACT Government Directory for contacts

Bike information can be found at the ACT Government's web site. [More information]
The ACT's bicycle laws are found in the Traffic Act 1937 and the 1999 Australian Road Rules
Motorists and cyclists rights and responsibilities can be found in the ACT Traffic Handbook 1997.
The ACT Government permits and encourages cycling on footpaths.
New parking provision guidelines require bicycle parking to be provided in all new commercial buildings.
The Canberra Cycleways Map was published in 1995 and 1998, and shows all the roads, bike paths and off-road tracks. [More information]
Some main roads have been improved for bicycle commuting,(see photos).
[More information: write 'cycling' in Subject Line]
The 1996/97 ACT Budget spent $700,000 on bicycle facilities. In fact, a lot more than this was spent as part of the road maintenance budget, on improving on-road cycling for commuters. [More information: write 'cycling' in Subject Line]
What does the Government plan in 2002/03. Check out the 2002/03 budget
The Government has an extensive data base about many aspects of cycling in Canberra, including bike use, commuter cycling trends, helmet wearing rates and bike crashes. Published data can be obtained from the Canberra public library or from the Traffic Monitoring Unit in the Department of Urban Services.
A complete data base of all 1,500kms of footpaths and bike paths will be completed in 1997. It will be used to improve maintenance and pinpoint problems. [More information: write 'cycling' in Subject Line]
The Government supports both commuter and recreational cycling through the National Bicycle Strategy 1994 and 1999, the ACT Bicycle Strategy ("Canberra Bicycle 2000") launched on 30 November 1997, and the Transport Strategy. Compare with Bicycle Strategies from Victoria, and Portland USA. [More information]
All the states and territories meet regularly as the National Bicycle Council, and cooperate to promote national uniformity in relation to cycling and exchange information on best practice in cycling matters. [More information]
Assistance has been given to Canberra Off-Road Cyclists to buy a mountain bike for use by women who are interested in mountain biking either at a social of competitive level.
A draft Mountain Bike Riders Code has been developed in consultation (but not necessarily endorsement) with conservation groups and Pedal Power ACT and Canberra Off-Road Cyclists

Download and snail mail or fax information about hazards to cyclists on this form. Alternatively, you can email your comments from here. All suggestions and complaints are stored on a purpose built data base and systematically addressed as funds become available. [More information: write 'cycling' in Subject Line]
The Government telephone number to ring about bicycle matters is 6207 6677. Try 6207 2283 for tree branch hazards. Alternatively call the ACT Government call centre at 13 22 81
Another option for contacting the government about repairs and maintenance to bike facilities
Find out why your bike won't make the traffic lights change. Report malfunctions to the Traffic Signals Group in the ACT Government, or email(write 'traffic lights' in Subject Line) .
The Canberra Festival of Cycling is held every year around November. It is supported by the ACT Government and the Bike Week Breakfasts are organised by Pedal Power. [More information]
Bike lockers are provided for all day secure bike storage at each bus interchange, to encourage longer distance bicycle/bus commuting (See photo of lockers at Civic bus interchange). Call Pedal Power ACT to hire a locker.
Bike racks have been installed at shopping centres and many other places.

ACTION launched the "BIKEBUS" trial for bike racks on buses on St Valentines Day 1997. Does this mean that bus drivers love cyclists after all!! But after 4 years no bike racks have appeared on buses on roads. Perhaps it was just a stunt. Call the Minister for Urban Services, Bill Woods to find out.

Where are the bike shops

The best way to find all the bike shops is to point to the Telstra Yellow Pages and search on "bicycles". This will get you to all the shops but won't tell you about bike hire places.
Check out the Canberra Cycles web site. Canberra Cycles helps organises the famous Fitz's Challenge bike ride, and is one of the oldest and best bike shops in Canberra.

The ACT Bicycle Superstore at Mitchell is the second bike shop in Canberra to go online.

And now Big B Bicycles, and the Bike Shed

Rideshop at Manuka opened in early 2000

Where can you hire bikes

It's hard to find the bike hire places by searching the Yellow Pages , as they are all mixed in with the bike shop information. So here are some of the bike hire places I know about.

Dial a Bicycle: found in 7 Moddock Pl Gordon (Tuggeranong) Phone 02 6294 3171
Canberra Bicycle Tours - Amaroo, Gungahlin Phone 02 6242 6264
Mr Spokes Bike Hire: found right on the edge of Lake Burley Griffin next to the boat hire. Probably the biggest general bike hire place in Canberra. This is the place to get a bike to ride around the lake. Phone 02 6257 1188
Lonsdale St Cyclery, Braddon has mountain bikes for hire (without suspension) Ph 02 6257 7885
Adventure 4x4 Mountain Bike Tours - Wanniassa, Tuggeranong Ph 6231 9370
Cycling-Hire & Tours, ACT Bicycle Superstore, Mitchell, Ph 02 6241 7897
Canberra YHA, Dryandra St , O'Connor hires mountain bike style bikes for $30 per day (2001) . email to canberra@yhansw.org.au
Row 'n' Ride hires Avanti mountain bikes at Lake Ginninderra at weekends. Ph 018 206 522
Canberra Cycles in Fyshwick have a few bikes to hire
R.E.A.L
Row 'N Ride hires mountain bikes and canoes in the ACT

Bike Rides in and around Canberra

Off-road rides: Short (about one hour) mostly off-road rides through the bushland in Canberra. Mostly accessible from the bike path network. Ride description and map designed to be printed off and stuffed into the back pocket.
Pedal Power organise regular, supported, recreational long/short, easy/hard rides on and off the bike paths, generally at weekends
Descriptions of many other rides around Canberra and the region can also be found at the Pedal Power site
Rides around the Southern Highlands of NSW (90 minutes drive from Canberra)
Some great rides in the Blue Mountains (4 hours drive from Canberra)
Andreas Caranti visited Canberra from Italy in 1996 and writes about his rides around Lake Burley Griffin and in the Namadgi National Park , about one hour's drive south of Canberra.
For a really long ride, try the Bicentennial National Trail , which passes through the ACT on its 5,330 km route from Victoria to Cooktown.
Critical Mass rides in Canberra! From Garema Place, City, on the last Friday of the month, starting at around 5.30pm. (Critical Mass is an international cyclist movement aimed at raising awareness of cyclists' rights and safety on the road. CM encourages motorists to share the road and cyclists to reclaim the streets)

Big Regular Cycling Events in Canberra

Canberra Bike Week renamed the Canberra Festival of Cycling, usually held in November each year
HPV Challenge, also in November each year
The Big Canberra Bike Ride is held on the Canberra Day weekend in March each year
The Australian Mountain Bike Nationals, were first held at Majura Pines, Canberra April 1998. They are planned to be held in Canberra on a regular basis at a permanent site about 20km out of Canberra at Blue Range in the Brindabellas. Check the CORC site for details
The ACT State MTB Championships are held in March each year and organised by CORC.
The ACT Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships are organised by the MBO Association each year.
The Tour de Dirt is another annual Mountain Bike Event organised by CORC.
The Tour de Femme is one of the non competitive biggest rides for women in Australia. Its held around October each year (next one 22/10/2000)
Fitz's Challenge (150km) and the less painful Tharwa Challenge (90km) held around November. Sponsored by Canberra Cycles, Canberra Tradesman's Club and Pedal Power ACT. Details from Pedal Power ACT. .
The Commonwealth Bank Cycle Classic, Australia's leading road cycle race, holds its final road leg in Canberra in around November.
The Canberra Milk Race, known as the Canberra Lite White Milk Race, is held in April. Dave Sutton usually has the results.
The Sri Chinmoy Peace Triathlon Festival, billed as the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, is usually held in Canberra each year around February. The Peace Capital Triple Triathlon is held in November. Check out Triathlon ACT for details.

Publications about cycling in Canberra

Check out the cycling books in the Canberra public library with an on line search of the catalogue. All you need to do is dial 6207 7337 on your modem, and do a keyword search on 'bicycle'. One day soon the library catalogue will be online, then it'll be easy!

Canberra Cycling:

Improving Cycling for Commuters in Canberra. P Ratcliffe. AUSBIKE 92 Proceedings of a National Bicycle Conference. Melbourne, March 1992.
Cycling on Footpaths in the Australian Capital Territory. P Ratcliffe. AUSBIKE 92 Proceedings of a National Bicycle Conference. Melbourne, March 1992.
Bicycle Planning Initiatives in the Australian Capital Territory. P Ratcliffe. AUSBIKE 92 Proceedings of a National Bicycle Conference. Melbourne, March 1992.
A draft bicycle strategy for the Australian Capital Territory. Australian Capital Territory. Dept of Urban Services. Draft. 1994
"Canberra Bicycle 2000", a bicycle strategy for the ACT. Canberra, 1997
The National Bicycle Strategy, 1999 . Adopted by the ACT Government
National Bicycle Strategy. Department of Transport and Communications. 1994, Canberra
Canberra cycleways (map) : includes bush tracks and trails. (2nd edition). Australian Capital Territory. 1994
Survey of cycle path users, Tuggeranong, Belconnen, City: age, sex, helmet use. Australian Capital Territory. 1992
Bicycling in the ACT - A survey of Bicycle Riding and Helmet Wearing in 1992. Traffic Monitoring Unit, Dept of Urban Services, 1993
ACT Bicycle Volumes: Trends, Variations, Survey Results, Helmet Wearing and Cyclists' Characteristics 1991 - 1993/94. Traffic Monitoring Unit, Dept of Urban Services, 1994
ACT Bicycle Volumes: Trends, Variations, Survey Results, Helmet Wearing and Cyclists'Characteristics (1993 - 1995/96). Traffic Monitoring Unit, Department of Urban Services.
Bicycle crashes in the Australian Capital Territoritory. Whately, Stephen. 1985
40+ Bicycle Rides around Canberra and southern New South Wales. Pedal Power (ACT) Inc (being republished in 2002 as Cycling Canberra: Exploring the ACT and region by bicycle)
A Guide to the Cycle Collection of the Canberra Bicycle Museum, Dickson
Riding Canberra's Bike Paths: A commuter/tourist cycling guide. Graeme Barrow. Dagraja Press, Canbera 1989.
Integrated Land Use and Transport Plan discussion paper, 1999
"A History of Cycling in Canberra and Region" by Barbara Malpass for the Canberra Bicycle Museum. First printed Nov '99 ACT RRP- $18 ($15 Pedal
Power members)

Rides outside the Australian Capital Territory:

Discovering NSW & Canberra's bike and walking paths. Lulham, Amanda. 1996
Bicycle tours of southeastern Australia. Thorn, Julia. 1989
Seeing Sydney by bicycle. Thorn, Julia. c1990
Mountain bike rides in the Tumbarumba area : magic bike rides in the mountain forests. Frew, Ron and Harris, Grant. 1995
Cycling the bush : 100 rides in New South Wales. Klinge, Sven,1991
Bicycling around Victoria : over 50 great day and weekend rides. Peace, Ray 1991
Cycling the bush : 100 rides in Victoria. Klinge, Sven, 1993
Cycling the bush : 100 rides in Tasmania. Klinge, Sven, 1993
Cycling the bush : the best rides in Australia. Klinge, Sven, 1996
Bicycle touring in Australia. Hemmings, Leigh, 1991
Great Australian bike rides : touring down under the easy way. Hemmings, Leigh, 1994
Cycling Australia : bicycle touring throughout the sunny continent: covering the Australian mainland and Tasmania. Duckworth, Ian, 1997
The Weekender Bike book. Peace, Ray and Lanigan, Anna, 1985
"Cycling in Northern Australia". Bob Craine, Pandanus Publishing , Port Macquarie. $7 from Pedal Power.

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